Frances Ruth Shand Kydd (née Roche; 20 January 1936 – 3 June 2004) was the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Her biographer, Max Riddington, who was the writer of Frances: The Remarkable Story of Princess Diana's Mother, described Shand Kydd as a woman who was "certainly complicated" and also "funny, warm, intelligent, and energetic."[1] After Diana's death on 31 August 1997, Shand Kydd devoted the final years of her life to Roman Catholic charity work.

Her ancestors were Irish, Scottish, English, American, and possibly, Armenian, and Indian. Her paternal grandmother, Frances Ellen Work, was an heiress and socialite from New York City. Shand Kydd was a direct descendant of Kitty (her great-great-grandmother), daughter of Eliza and Scotsman Theodore Forbes. Eliza's father, Hakob Kevork or Kevorkian, was probably Armenian. Eliza's Indian mother may have been Muslim.[5][6]

The British media made comparisons between the lives of Shand Kydd and Diana because they were both inexperienced young women who were thrust into the spotlight by marriage to much older men in higher stations.[citation needed] Her marriage to Viscount Althorp was not a happy one and, in 1967, she left to be with Peter Shand Kydd, an heir to a wallpaper fortune whom she had met the year before. Subsequently, she was named "the other woman" in Janet Shand Kydd's divorce action against her husband.[3]

In the inquest about Diana's death Paul Burrell, the former butler of the Princess, claimed that there had been a rift between her mother and the Princess.[9] Another former official officer of Diana, Princess of Wales, considered these claims to be "nonsense". This officer released letters about a strong and loving relationship that existed between Frances and her daughter. Diana had saved her mother from drowning and thought of her as her "best chum".[10]

On 14 July 1976, Viscount Althorp married Raine, Countess of Dartmouth, the daughter of the novelist Barbara Cartland. He eventually won a bitter custody battle over his children.[11] Frances and Peter Shand Kydd were married on 2 May 1969 and lived on the remote Scottish island of Seil. Although she lived a quiet life, she was forced into public view following the engagement of Diana to Prince Charles on 24 February 1981.[12] Shand Kydd and her second husband separated in June 1988 after he left her for a younger woman.[4] She blamed the pressure of media attention for the breakdown of the marriage. In 1996, she was banned from driving after being convicted of drunk-driving, but denied she had a problem with alcohol. She and Diana quarrelled in May 1997 after she told Hello! magazine that Diana was happy to lose her title of "Her Royal Highness" following her controversial divorce from Prince Charles. She was reportedly not on speaking terms with her daughter by the time of Diana's death.[13]

Following Diana's death, Shand Kydd made a point of visiting the family of Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes which Diana and her companion, Dodi Fayed, were in when it crashed in Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, killing all three of them. She stated, "Strange though it may seem, my daughter's funeral was probably the proudest day of my life. Proud of her, proud of my elder daughters who were rock steady in their readings, and my son who gave the ultimate tribute of brotherly love for her."[14] In 2002, she testified at the trial of Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell.[15] She spent her later years in solitude on Seil.[15] She became a Roman Catholic in 1994[1] and devoted herself to Catholic charities.[3] She eventually became involved with the Handicapped Children's Trust, the Royal National Mission for Deep Sea Fishermen, the Mallaig and Northwest Fishermen's Association, and the National Search and Rescue Dogs Association.[4]

Lord St John of Fawsley, who was one of the friends of the members of the Spencer family, paid tribute to Frances. He spoke of her, "She was a very kind and caring person who loved her daughter, the Princess of Wales, very much. She found lasting peace and comfort in the Catholic Church."[20]